Abstract

Developing countries lacking capabilities, funds and human resources are compelled to improve the digital literacy rates of their task force through educational initiatives. This is the case of Tunisia where a stand‑alone in‑service teacher education (Ted) initiative was implemented in 2014 and 2015. The aim of this project, the Tech Age Teacher Project (TATP), was to equip teachers in Tunisia with the technology skills for teaching so that they can dispense teaching of a 21st‑century education quality. Five English language teachers, who benefitted from this initiative, are the focus of this study. The aim was to explore whether and how they are making the transition into the technologically‑challenged schools. Analysis of the TATP documents, data is collected through a short teacher questionnaire and a semi‑structured interview during which teachers give their personal accounts as TAT trainees and their attempts to apply the ideas in real school settings. Results indicated that teachers showed great dedication toward implementing the ideas/skills received in the training and that they strove, as technology‑capable teachers, to integrate technology in their day‑to‑day practice despite the constraints they faced in the schools. Their accounts reveal their rationale and motives for using technology with their students and the strategies they employ to circumvent obstacles, but also show that their success in integrating technology remains restricted by issues of infrastructure, barred access to a technology space, learners' "playful" attitudes, etc. The findings highlight these teachers' resourcefulness and sense of mission as to transforming their learners' learning experience and changing their attitudes towards technology use and to fostering 21st‑century education learning goals. The paper concludes with recommendations for future initiatives to (re)design and (re)orient the goals of the initiative towards supporting these teachers' learning processes as they make the transition as technology‑capable teachers into the technology‑challenged schools. Recommendations are made for the emerging professional community of technology‑capable teachers to build a networked community of practice likely to foster these teachers' reconstruction of their professional knowledge and skills and to facilitate the dissemination of ideas on the integration of technology in education.